Former North Melbourne defender Troy Makepeace says he is a “bit over” the constant Tasmania relocation talk that continually encircles the club.
The Kangaroos are often thrown around as those that must relocate in order to survive, but stoic supporters with royal blue and white blood coursing through their veins are adamant it will never happen.
Makepeace attempts to keep the Roos community well informed by acting as a conduit of sorts between the club and the supporters on social media and suggests the incessant chat is beginning to become grating.
The 139-game Kangaroo believes the club is simply an “easy target” for such gossip.
“Honestly, I get pretty p---ed off reading it,” he said on SEN’s The Sporting Capital.
“I’m a bit over it, particularly those in the inner sanctum of the club. Obviously a lot of the loyal supporters are quite sick of it as well. I think we’re any easy target.
“We don’t have the supporter base of the big clubs, but there’s a lot going for the club. We’ve had success in the late ‘90s and we’ve made some finals appearances since that time as well.
“Things haven’t gone our way, the way we and the club would have liked, but we’re a pretty proud club and one that is going to fight all the way until the end.
“I’m glad that the club is taking the direction that they took in terms of keeping them in Melbourne. They’ve established a fantastic base down at Arden Street, the facilities there are pretty awesome.
“Now we’re playing VFL games, AFL practice matches, AFLW too. That culture is something we can build a massive foundation on and really establish ourselves as a rock solid tenant there.”
Makepeace is under no illusions as to where the Roos currently sit in the AFL landscape under new coach David Noble.
They’ve kicked off the 2021 season with four straight defeats but there is light at the end of the tunnel with plenty of talented youngsters present.
“We’re definitely in a rebuilding phase and it’s a phase that a lot of our supporters wouldn’t have seen the club go through in their time,” he added.
“A lot of the older supporters have maybe seen a rebuilding phase at some stage, but certainly not in my time being involved with North have we been in this phase. It’s new to a lot of people, even myself, initially it’s a little bit hard to see us at this point at this part of the ladder.
“Being an 0-4 start and getting belted in a few games, it’s disappointing, but hopefully we can see the bigger picture in the not too distant future.
“For sure I see the bigger picture. You’ve got to look at our young midfield at the moment, the players that are showing their skills and poise.
“Tom Powell, Charlie Lazzaro and Will Phillips are the obvious three and we’ve got a couple that played a few games last year that need to build on their experience. I think there’s a really bright future.”
Even if criticism pointed at the Kangas right now is valid, Makepeace is confident the tide will turn.
“A lot you look at is wins and losses, ultimately,” he said further.
“We’re not getting the wins on the board at the moment so I can see some validity there. We’re not getting the results but I look beyond that in the sense of where we’re heading and how we’ve started that rebuild.
“Unfortunately we’ve just got to sit there and cop it to a point that we know what we’re doing, we know the direction we’re heading and we know it’s going to be a long and torturous path to get there. I’m confident that we will get there hopefully sooner rather than later.
“It’s never good or easy losing games and by big margins, it’s not a good thing to see and it certainly doesn’t make your weekends any easier.”
After pushing Adelaide deep into the game last weekend, the Roos will attempt to strike their first win of the season when they take on Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday.